"Where Are Your Eyes?"

No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

Philippians 3:13-14

I had a problem.  I simply could not seem to get my shot grouping tight enough during Basic Training Firearms Training.  I tried everything I could think of, to no avail.  I always had one shot that was outside the perimeter. I didn't want to be "that guy" who failed Rifle Qualification and had to recycle through it again.  I was getting frustrated and so was my Drill Sergeant.  I could tell he was getting more than a bit irritated because his normally loud tone was becoming less and less loud.  Everyone else had finished and qualified except for me, so to say I was nervous and under pressure was an understatement.  I racked my first round and hit the target dead center. Whew? Maybe I can do it after all.  Second round was up and to the left but still in the perimeter.  Gulp. This is going sideways fast.  I took a deep breath and looked back at the rest of our platoon impatiently waiting on me.  Then right in my ear, I heard my Drill Sergeant hiss, "Where are your eyes soldier? Why are you looking behind you? Ain't nuthin you can do about the past! But you CAN do something about the present.  Eyes on the Prize Son!"  I took another deep breath, aimed, squeezed the trigger and the last round hit within the perimeter.  My Drill Sergeant grabbed the back of my collar and, quite literally, hoisted me out of the foxhole and told me "Keep Your Eyes On The Prize!"

I learned a valuable lesson. Worrying about the past, getting angry about the past, focusing on the past will only keep you locked in the past and you can't move forward when you're locked in the past.  Don't get me wrong, there are times when the Whisperer will hiss in my ear about the time I was beaten up in 5th grade, of that time when I was accused and punished for something I didn't do, or when got angry with my brother for telling me to jump off the roof of the garage with Dad's umbrella because it was a parachute.. The Whisperer never rests and never misses a chance to remind us of that time we can never change (aka The Past) because he wants us to get locked in the past and not keep our eyes on the prize.

I don't know about you, but I am convinced that the prize Abba has in store for us is WELL worth keeping as our focus!  Thank you SSGT Oliver Wendall Burnham for reminding me to KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE PRIZE!

 

Noses Out

 

Interfering in someone else’s affairs

    is as foolish as yanking a dog’s ears.

Proverbs 26:17

Have you ever tried to yank on a dog's ears, especially a dog who didn't know you?   I can tell you from experience that dogs are not fond of having any part of them yanked.  As a matter of fact, doing so tends to truly tick them off and they will use their teeth to get their point across.

You are probably thinking "Why would ANYONE be so dumb as to yank a dog's ears?". Yet don't we do the same thing when we stick our noses into someone else's affairs?  Let's face it, there is an entire genre of "reality" television and entire print publishing that does nothing but invite us to intrude in the affairs of others.  And we eat it up like chocolate!  Why is that? Consider this: Would you like having your affairs displayed for everyone to see, critique, and analyze?  I wouldn't!

Solomon makes it very clear that when we stick our noses where they don't belong, we are begging for trouble!  Here's a wonderful rule of thumb: If someone wants my counsel, they will ask me for it. Otherwise, it's not my business UNLESS they are endangering themselves and/or others.

This all goes back to the simple truth -> Treat others as you want them to treat you.  

Under The Still Waters

"Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. 

He never changes or casts a shifting shadow."

 - James 1:17

When I was a child, my Grampa took me fishing. The surface of the pond was like glass. We dropped our lines in and Grampa took out some sandwiches Gramma had packed for us. He asked me to say grace and I looked at him with big tears in my eyes and said, "I can't. God doesn't seem to like me anymore."

I confessed to my Grampa that I had been praying that my brother and I could get along, but I REALLY didn't like him very much. I told him that because I didn't like my brother very much that God didn't seem to hear my prayer. My Grampa thought for a minute and said, "God always hears our prayers because God never changes, and He knows why you and your brother don't get along. Ask Him to show you why you two are always arguing and ask Him to show you what YOU need to do about it."

I felt a little better and said the God is Great prayer for our lunch. And then Grampa said, "Look at the pond. Smooth as glass. But look at our corks moving around. There's a current underneath that we can't see. God's like that, we may not see Him and we may not feel Him, but He is still working on us."

I did ask God to show me why and what I could do about it. It didn't make my brother and I best of friends, but we got along for the most part.

Comments

 

Tired Of Trying To Be Good?

We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love.
God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.
Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. We love each other because he loved us first.
1 John 4:16-19
 

Did you know that the reason people are so bad is that they are trying so very hard to be “good”? In fact, the trying is so often so prideful (look at me how good I’m being), narcissistic (don’t you wish you could be as good as I am), and ego-centered (I’m so very good) that holiness is never the product.  Now…because of justification (in Christ we are forgiven), imputation (we are clothed in the righteousness of Christ), and adoption (through Christ we are children of Abba), we can lighten up and allow Abba to show His love when we get better and when we don’t.

 

You see, it is at that moment when we will be surprised with the goodness that often follows. That happens because goodness and failure to be good are no longer the issue…why? Because Jesus has already taken care of that.

 

The reason Abba didn’t just drop a book in our laps to express His love, but instead sent His Son, was because of the nature of His love.  Let me as a question, have you ever tried to explain how beautiful the blue sky is to someone who cannot see?  How about trying to explain the beauty of a symphony to someone who cannot hear?  Abba wants us to know the true nature of His love and the only way He could do that so we would understand was to send His love incarnate in Christ.

 

You see, love is not a concept, or an action, or a doctrine! Love is an experience, both when it is received and when it is given.  Remember this, you can only share love to the degree you have received love. When we truly experience the love of Abba through Christ, we can’t help but share it with others!

 

Fortress

I love you, Lord; you are my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety. I called on the Lord , who is worthy of praise, and he saved me from my enemies.

Psalms 18:1-3

When I was a child, my friends and I would build tree forts.  No one knew we were there because we disguised them. There we would do those weird things young boys do, like read comic books, smoke (and choke) on a cigar one of the guys stole from his Dad, joke and laugh.  We felt safe and secure in our tree fort.  But there also came time when we had to leave it and enter the world again.

What is the purpose of a fortress?  It is a place where you feel safe. It a place where you are protected. It is a place where you are secure from intruders.  Yet a fortress cannot move.  BUT, consider that Abba is our fortress.  In Him we are safe and secure. In Him we are protected. In Him we find comfort.  And, here's the kicker, our fortress we have in Abba goes with us everywhere we go. We call on Him and He answers. We flee to Him and we are protected. We go to Him because we know we are loved!

There are times we seem to forget that, or am I the only one.  Yet Abba never forgets and never leaves us and always loves us.  Maybe it's time we tell Abba thank you for being our fortress.

 

Christianity IS For The Weak

You read that title correctly.  Christianity IS for the weak!  

Consider this:

1. Abba took on the helpless human flesh...an infant in a barn feed trough.
2. The Creator and Sustainer of ALL creation depended on weak humans for nourishment, comfort and diaper changes.
3. He suffered the ridicule and rejection of His own people and closest friends.
4. He dies a humiliating and degrading death at the hands of a brutal government.

BUT....that's NOT the end of the story!

I struggle with failure.  It's not that I try to fail, because I honestly do try to be good. Yet, I always seem to fail and then I am too embarrassed to go to Abba with the words, "I'm sorry. I failed You AGAIN!" 

Over time, my soul became seared because I thought confessing my struggles and failures was only for the weak. And I refused to be weak!  I had seen others confess with tears and sniffles, then go right back out with a smile on their face to do exactly the same things again, as if crocodile tears washed you clean.  But, hey, that's why they were weak!  I did what I wanted to do and didn't bother with weakness.

Now....let me tell you a secret: those who think they are strong because they "don't need" Abba are truly the weak ones.  How do I know? Because I was one of them. When my life came crashing down around me (I felt like Job with one disaster after another), I realized that I NEEDED Abba!  I actually pulled my car into a parking lot, and let Him love me and cleanse me.  

"As Jesus was having a meal in Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with Jesus and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” When Jesus heard this he said, “Those who are healthy don’t need a physician, but those who are sick do." - Matthew 9:10-12

Think about it!  When we are sick, we ARE weak! And THAT is when we need the Greatest Physician, Abba!  Even the Apostle Paul said:

"Therefore I am content with weaknesses, with insults, with troubles, with persecutions and difficulties for the sake of Christ, for whenever I am weak, then I am strong." 

- 2 Corinthians 12:10

It's okay to be weak and acknowledge that we need Abba!  I know I do....how about you?

 

Inseparable

"And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord." - Romans 8:38-39 

 What a comfort it is to know that God loves me enough to keep me in spite of myself. Because I love Abba, I want to do things that I feel would make Him happy, but Abba loves me no matter how badly I mess things up.

 

I've mentioned before that I am on my 59th year of living life wrong. I say that because I am not perfect and will never be perfect this side of heaven, but I learn from mistakes (most of the time). No matter what you have done or will do, Abba's heart is ALWAYS open to you. Abba never said "You must be this tall to ride this ride." Abba spoke through Jesus Christ and said, "Come to me all who are exhausted and weighed down, I will give you rest."

 

Fact: Abba loves us when we don't even love ourselves.

Fact: Abba loves us when we mess life up royally.

Fact: Abba loves us even when we don't like Him.

 

Abba loves you! And THAT'S the truth!